Billy Mitchell (gamer)

For other people named Billy Mitchell, see Billy Mitchell (disambiguation).

Billy Mitchell
Mitchell at a 2014 Twin Galaxies event
Personal information
BornWilliam James Mitchell Jr.[1]
(1965-07-16) July 16, 1965 (age 59)
Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S.
Career information
Games

William James Mitchell Jr. (born July 16, 1965) is an American video game player. He achieved fame throughout the 1980s and 1990s by claiming numerous records on classic video games, including a perfect score on Pac-Man. Twin Galaxies and Guinness World Records recognized Mitchell as the holder of several records earned playing classic video games, and he has appeared in several documentaries on competitive gaming and retrogaming. However, in 2017, the legitimacy of a number of his records was called into question, leading to Twin Galaxies stripping Mitchell of his records.

Mitchell rose to national prominence in the 1980s when Life included him in a photo spread of game champions during the height of the golden age of arcade video games. In 1999, Mitchell was the first person to claim a perfect score of 3,333,360 points on the arcade game Pac-Man.[2][3] A 2007 documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, follows his attempts to maintain the highest score on Donkey Kong after being challenged by newcomer Steve Wiebe.[2]

In 2018, Mitchell's high scores on Donkey Kong were contested after members of the Twin Galaxies forums found discrepancies in the videos Mitchell had provided for The King of Kong, suggesting he had used emulation software to falsify his score. Twin Galaxies and Guinness removed Mitchell's scores, leading Mitchell to threaten legal action against both for defamation. While Guinness restored Mitchell's scores, Twin Galaxies countersued Mitchell. Both Mitchell and Twin Galaxies settled in 2024, and Twin Galaxies re-posted Mitchell's scores to a historical leaderboard.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Mitchell remains banned from the current Twin Galaxies leaderboards.

Mitchell's family owns the Rickey's restaurants in Hollywood, Florida, and Pembroke Pines, Florida, and he sells Rickey's World Famous Hot Sauce.[10][11]

  1. ^ Mehta, Vaidehi (January 26, 2024). "Lawsuit Over Donkey Kong High Score Settles". FindLaw. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Ramsey, David (Spring 2006). "The Perfect Man". Oxford American. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Dixon, Shawn (July 3, 1999). "Billy Mitchell Achieves Perfect Pac-Man Score At ACAM". American Classic Arcade Museum. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Crecente, Brian (April 12, 2018). "'King of Kong' Star Stripped of High Scores, Banned From Competition". Variety. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Harmon, Josh (September 30, 2019). "The Split-Screen Man". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference laconia 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference ars guinness was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Orland, Kyle (December 2, 2020). "Twin Galaxies attacks Billy Mitchell as a fraud in new legal claims". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022.
  9. ^ Orland, Kyle (January 16, 2024). "After settlement, Billy Mitchell's scores go up on Twin Galaxies' "historic database"". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Modell, Josh (February 8, 2008). "The King Of Kong, continued: Donkey Kong champ Billy Mitchell calls The A.V. Club out of the blue". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Kernicky, Kathleen (July 16, 1999). "HE PACS A MEAN GAME". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022.